


Fellswitch: Fate

by Aria Serif (Mysterie)



Series: Fellswitch: Fate [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Undertale AU, fellswitch, sentinaltale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24517840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterie/pseuds/Aria%20Serif
Summary: Derringer is the queen's Enforcer, but not by choice; the Underground is underneath a tyrant's thumb and no one seems to be able to defy her except him... and even then it has led to his personal suffering as he tries his best to stay between the tyrant and the innocent monsters she wants to dust for her own amusement or stupid whims. He knows that he cannot keep up this forever and his brother, second to Captain Alphys of the Royal Guard, could be left on his own if ever the tyrant had reason to dust him. One day, while on his way back from the usual day in court, he comes upon a strange monster in need of help ...
Relationships: Aria & Derringer, Derringer & Alphys, Derringer & Asgore, Derringer & Muffet, Derringer & Toriel, Derringer & Undyne, Mika & Derringer, Mika & Nuke, Nuke & Alphys, Nuke & Toriel
Series: Fellswitch: Fate [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771813
Kudos: 1





	1. A Fell World

**Author's Note:**

> Want to see the comic? Here is the link:
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/arerona/art/Fellswitch-744125025
> 
> It starts before Fate does.

_I swear I have the worst luck sometimes..._ Was the thought of the figure that was lurching through the alleyway, backing away from a trio of dog monsters with a scowl. Normally such monsters would be no threat to her, ruffians that they were... troublemakers; but not only was this a fell universe but she was weary from a more dangerous fight and she didn't have a lot of magic to use to be rid of the threat in front of her. That meant that she was vulnerable, and in a fell universe, that could be fatal. Was she going to die here? After all that training... was it going to amount to nothing after all?   
  


"just what is it that you want?" She tried to make her voice even, like her mother had taught her, but the tears in her green blouse and dress, not to mention her blue scarf, along with the various charring of her bones made it obvious she was an easy target at the moment. Of all the luck... of all the places she had to land...  
  
"We-" Before the ruffians could respond to her question they were interrupted. She knew showing any more signs of weakness, besides the arm that clutched her sore ribs, would be a mistake. They'd strike like snakes if they had a grasp on just how weak she was. She was free EXP to any monster who performed a Check and she had a feeling that the reason she'd been cornered was because at least one of them had done so after she'd been spotted.

"you lot really don't understand the concept of a fair fight do you?" Derringer sighed, leaning against the wall, Catster, his blaster, was at his side growling. 

"Are you nuts?! Don't attack the Queen's enforcer! Let's get out of here!" Said monster then turned and ran off, leaving the two more brazen monsters to fight on their own. That one was the only one to leave apparently.   
  
"Coward! Take care of the girl first!" One monster growled and leaped forward towards Mika.  
  


"stupid fools." Mika said even as the other lunged towards her, wielding a wicked looking knife for a dog monster. She reacted instantly, but her magic was a little less than what it normally was and the shield she'd materialized shattered like glass, even though it protected her from the initial blow, the weapon grazing the arm she'd brought up with the green shield. Just another rip in cloth and only one more mark to her HP. She surprised the other though by slamming her free fist into his snout. She wasn't going down without a fight. She hadn't spent so much time fighting off those two villains to so easily be bested by a couple of lowlifes in a back alley, "fell" verse or no. Official or not, she was a guardian and she was not going to be easy prey. 

"wrong choice mutts." Derringer disappeared then reappeared next to the woman, he released Catster at them, who attacked the monster that hit Mika; pinning him down, meanwhile the other had turned blue and had been slammed against the wall from Derringer's magic. Any attempt to struggle was futile as the magic pinned the monster to the wall as if he'd been stuck to it with super glue. Catster looked at Derringer who shook his head, the blaster gave a displeased sigh at the silent command as Derringer approached the monster she held down, he bent slightly.

"now," he pulled the other monster toward him.

"i don't really care that the queen has little interest in the gangs that roam the capital, but i do... i've given you lot a chance before..." He stopped and looked at Mika, almost seeming to ask her before saying.

"but you can't even be hospitable to a stranger in town?" Catster whined, she wanted to dust the monster under her claws; that much was apparent.  
"give me a reason that i shouldn't let my blaster dust you?" It was more of a question to Mika than the monster pinned below.

"i've heard of you..." She muttered, her gaze falling to him with the threat now immobilized. That didn't exactly answer the question he'd posed. She hadn't thought she'd run into someone she'd heard so much about. She was about to say something more, to actually answer his question, but using her magic like that to defend herself she'd pushed herself past her limits. Limits she had not done so before and before she could actually answer him, the way she knew any guardian would, she felt her energy suddenly wane. The world seemed to spin and the next thing she knew was darkness. Derringer used blue magic to prevent her from hitting the ground hard, and instead gently laid her on the ground; he motioned for Catster to let the monster up.

"i've heard hotlands is lovely this time of year. get outta the capital and stay out... or i WILL dust you both next time i see you..." He released the other monster and neither could get away fast enough to save their own hides.  
"why don't they learn?" He sighed as Catster gave a whine at him for letting them go. He had done this before, many times, with many other monsters over the years; so much so that he had lost track of them sometimes.  
"i know but you don't need to dust everyone either..." He walked over to Mika, who didn't stir, and slowly scooped her up as said to himself.  
"what do you mean you've 'heard of me?' " It was a rather bizarre statement for anyone to make, especially a stranger. He knew everyone in the capital so it wasn't hard to pick her out. He shook his head, he could tell she wasn't from his AU but didn't know who she was either. Her attire made it clear she was as much of a stranger as anyone could be to his world. Its bright color stuck out amongst the colors he, and the rest of the underground, was more familiar with. Green magic began to flow around her to heal her wounds.  
"come on girl." He called over to his blaster, as he shortcut back to his and Nuke's home in Snowdin. He arrived in their living room. It was a simple room with a dark green couch that seemed worn with age, there was an equally worn wooden coffee table before it and a TV against the ashen gray walls. A set of steps near one end of the couch led to a second story that held two bedrooms and a bathroom while at the opposing end of the couch was a door that led to a kitchen.  
"hmm... couch would be comfiest for you i guess..." He laid her down on the couch as he placed a worn blanket over her, keeping green healing magic around her, healing her as best he could, as he went to retrieve the first aid kits. The first thing she heard when she came to was the slamming of a door. 

  
_Great... mom is going to kill me when she finds out I... Wait... Where exactly am I? I couldn't possibly be where I think I am... am I?_ She didn't remember coming to the house so she figured out what must have happened and that didn't sit well with her. She wasn't home. She was in an AU that was both strange to her, but that she also knew rather well. Derringer came out of the bathroom with two worn first aid kits, muttering to himself about needing to buy more bandages. His blaster was hot on his heels with a roll of bandages in her mouth, she was now the size of a house cat. She dropped the bandages down the stairs and looked up at Derringer as it unwound. As if that were useful.  
  


"really?" He stated, as he walked down the stairs, rummaging through one of the kits he held. As he did Catster ran down and began to play with the end of the bandages that she'd dropped down the stairs.  
"you're ridiculous." He chuckled, as he stepped off the last stair, he then looked up and noticed Mika was awake. She had been simply watching him and the blaster though it was hard to tell what she might be thinking as her expression was neutral.  
"oh... you're awake..." He paused for a moment, thinking about what to say, that wouldn't make her try to get up to run off. He really didn't think she needed to be running anywhere if her wounds were anything to speak of; though he could only wonder what had happened before she'd landed in his world. She had been pretty beat up when he'd arrived and the three monsters who had been there hadn't been the cause of it. That much was obvious at least.  
"ummm... my name is Derringer... we don't have a hospital and healers in the capital aren't the best. so i brought you to my brother and i's home... as you were pretty beat up..."

"my name is Mika. still pretty banged up... though i can't say it's a surprise considering who my last opponents were before i stumbled here." She struggled to sit up, though after biting back a groan of pain she decided that wasn't a good idea and lay back down again where she was. She knew she'd been hurt bad, but the rush from the two fights had kept most of the pain at bay; now she was feeling every bump, bruise, scratch and burn from the fight. Though the burns weren't actually the type one got from a fire. No, Nightmare's ooze could be like acid and that's where those came from. She figured she was lucky she wasn't missing any bones outright but the other skeleton usually had to concentrate very hard to make his ooze, for lack of better wording, actually be acidic beyond just leaving little burns. Concentrated evil tended to do that.  
  
  
"nice to meet you but you probably should lay still." He said after watching her attempt to get up only to see her give up on that idea pretty quickly when it caused her pain.  
  


"i'm lucky i didn't land in a worse place." There were far worse worlds, universes, she knew. It was her job to know.   
  


"from what i've heard of the multiverse that is true..." He set the kits on the coffee table and pulled out some salve out of both of the kits, he was going to need it to treat the burns and help with the other injuries too if she had any. Assuming he could convince her to not try and run from it. Some monsters did that.  
"this will help your wounds, and will feel better than healing magic by itself." He said as he put some on her arm, Catster brought the bandage over to them. The same ones she'd been playing with earlier and had dropped.  
"i can't use that now it's contaminated." He huffed, that was more of amusement than anything else. He had known once she'd gotten a hold of it that he wouldn't be able to use it.  
"but i do have another one in the other kit." He turned back to Mika, who hadn't protested in the slightest to his treating her wounds. Not even flinching as he had put the liquid on.  
"you landed in actually a 'nicer' part of the capital, royal guards still patrol that area sometimes... so it's not all chaos..." Healing magic was still around her as he spoke, continuing to tend to her wounds with the salve and magic. With a quiet groan of exasperation, her sockets closed. There was something more urgent. Of course there was. How could she have not noticed before?

  
  
"yeah, well the injuries are the least of my worries at the moment." Her next words were muttered.  
"always did have the worst luck when jumping streams." It wasn't just jumping through a portal, like she'd thought she'd been doing before as she'd been trying to escape the battle. No. She could read the coding around her and it was.... It was telling her a lot. Her right eye light, which was oddly in the shape of a triangle, had shifted from green to yellow with her annoyance. This clearly was not her day.

"hmm... i'd assume those would be at the forefront," He shrugged as he bandaged a few more of her injuries.  
"but i guess landing in a strange AU is disconcerting..." He paused.  
"mind telling me how you've heard of me? we don't get many visitors."

  
  


"how about the fact that i'm from the future? that the time i'm from... i know about you because you met my mother. wouldn't you say that would be a little more concerning that just being beat up by a couple of AUs?" She knew good and well that it was, not necessarily because she was a time traveler but because she wasn't _supposed_ to travel without one of the Timekeepers yet. Doing so now meant she was going to be in a heap of trouble when one of them found out about it and there was no "if" because they surely would know about it. The Timekeepers always knew and they were just as strict, if not more so, than her mother.

"hmm i guess so..." Derringer shrugged as he finished.  
"who's your mom?" There was a deep sigh from her. Did he honestly not know the answer to that when he'd met her mother, at this point in time, only a little while ago? He couldn't have just guessed? Well okay, there was that saying that "assuming makes an ass out of you and me." but that didn't mean he couldn't just ask if it was her or not. Fine, she'd humor him and just tell him.

"Aria. chances are not high i will get off lightly for this." Lightly? Boy, that was an understatement. She'd be lucky if she wasn't stuck going through obstacle courses for the next year or so as part of her penance for accidentally traveling backwards in time. Even if she hadn't meant to, using the power of time was not something anyone was supposed to do on a whim without the proper training. She'd had some, but she hadn't been cleared to use it based on her own judgement yet. 

"oh? i'm sure traveling through AUs can be trying at times." He said, his phone buzzed; he glanced at his phone before sticking it back in his pocket. It wasn't important.  
"do you want something to drink or anything?"

"assuming that isn't the queen, you should answer that and no. i'm good. thanks for the hospitality though. everything considered."

"no problem." He nodded, he looked at his phone again.  
"he'll be here soon enough, excuse me for a moment." He left the room, no sooner than he did the front door burst open. Admitting to the household exactly the skeleton that Mika had been expecting, just as she had known that this same skeleton, dressed in armor, was the one who had sent the text message to her host. 

"SQUIRE!" Nuke yelled.  
  
"Where are you!? The Queen wants you and you've been avoiding Alphys and I all day! You better not be sleeping!" He slammed the door as he looked on his phone; there was a phone tracker on the screen, as soon as the door had slammed shut though his expression changed, dropping his act.

"No really, Derringer!" He said turning towards the kitchen when he came into the living room.  
  
"No really, the queen is angry for some reason! Where are yo-" He turned around only to see the Mika watching him quietly as Derringer came out of the kitchen holding a bottle of teriyaki sauce in one hand. She was pretty sure he'd heard the commotion his brother had made and had purposely dawdled in the other room.

"Oh... um Squire, who is this?"

"my name is Mika, nice to finally meet the famous brother." She shifted a little to try and get a better look, wincing in pain still from the movement, but she pushed past it to at least manage to prop herself up a bit.

"I see my reputation precedes me!" Nuke smiled, walking over to the couch.  
"Are you alright?"

"bit banged up but nothing someone who follows your greatness can't handle." She replies with a small smile. She was sucking up big time, knowing his personality, but a little flattery never hurt anyone really and while it wasn't he who had inspired her years ago, he was a good inspiration nonetheless. She'd met his future self after all.

"Mweeheh, I'm sure." He smiled.  
"With our help you'll be up in no time!" Derringer chuckled as he took a drink of the teriyaki sauce; he rubbed Nuke's head, it fuzzed. Nuke looked at him, unamused, as he smoothed his fuzz down. Mika tried not to laugh as it was amusing watching the two interact, something she had not seen before but had seen other AUs do and it seemed that, despite being a fell universe this world was no exception to the bond between the two brothers.

"Humph..." He chuckled.   
"Squire! You should go see what the queen wants, before she sends the whole royal guard!"

"mmm, i have to side with your brother. i do not wish to make the acquaintance of the entire royal guard." That was the last thing she wanted, even if she knew it was an exaggeration, she could not help saying that; joking lightly despite her annoyance at being stuck "in bed" due to her injuries, sorta.

"i doubt she'd send the whole guard, it'll take them a day or so to march here..." Derringer shrugged placing the bottle down on a table as he took out his pipe with the other hand and lit it; he took a short draw on the pipe, Nuke sighed, as he signed, unaware that their guest knew sign language and could read even one handed signs. Even if she couldn't, there was always reading code, though doing that would have been eavesdropping and that wasn't nice. 

-Please. She'll only get madder if you don't show up, she'll hurt you again...  
  
His movements were subtle, and most monsters didn't realize that was how he communicated to his brother. Derringer took a long draw on his pipe. Mika wasn't sure if she should tell the brothers she understood sign language; on one hand it would be rude not to but on the other hand if she did say something it would interrupt what she imagined they thought was a private, silent conversation. Not to mention she might accidentally expose the fact Nuke could do that to a passing monster and that wouldn't be good. Deciding the risk to her hosts was too great, she opted to say silent on the matter.

"fine... i'll go after i finish this." He nodded his pipe as he pulled a chair over from the table and sat down. Mika wondered if she'd be bombarded with questions. After all, she had admitted she was from the future, this would be an opportunity that few would likely pass up.  
"so you're Aria's daughter, huh?" He took another draw of his pipe and blew the smoke toward Nuke who just rolled his eye lights. Nuke didn't really mind it though, the smoke smelled sweet and didn't have the lingering effect that tobacco smoke had. It was a pleasant and sweet scent instead. Mika didn't mind it either.  
"you said you were from the future. roughly, how fair? and how can you tell?" Derringer asked.

"the fact that this is the underground and in my time you're on the surface so.... i can't reveal how far. that's against regulation and i'm in enough trouble as it is just for bein’ here. don't tell my mother. she cannot meet me as i am now." Not to mention she hadn't figured that out yet. Being still weak from her injuries, the code of this world wasn't playing nice and telling her everything she wanted; it was withholding a lot actually and that annoyed her. So, for the time being, she actually had no clue but given a little time and some more scanning she was sure she could figure it out. 

"that's really hard to believe, i can't imagine that we ever make it to the surface..." Derringer said, taking another draw on his pipe. Well that wasn't a surprise. Mika nearly deadpanned. Why was it that no one ever believed it? Was it a movie thing that humans did too often or something? Well, okay, yes they did but why was it so hard to believe that someone from the future was telling the truth? Then again, she mused, it probably was hard to accept without proof and this world did have it rough.

"Don't be like that... It'll happen someday!" Nuke scolded.

"What's the surface lik-" Nuke was about to ask but Derringer raised his eyebrow ridge causing him to stop mid question.

"Will you be able to get back?" Nuke asked. Mika wondered why he'd stopped asking that question, obviously he did want to know; not that she knew from experience what the surface world was like here.

"yes, i can get back on my own once i've had about a day's rest. time travel takes up a lot of magic to do. that i even had the reserves after the fight with... others, was a surprise. especially considering it was a blind jump. i had no idea where i was going... i did it out of the need to survive. though i agree with Nuke, you do need a little more optimism in your soul." She leaned back against the sofa more, considering her next words carefully. She really couldn't afford to just say or do anything. It was one thing being in another world, but it was quite another to be in that world's past. Affecting the past was very dangerous and the consequences to that were not ones she wanted to entertain.  
"i apologize for any inconvenience i cause while i am here." Derringer nodded, he couldn't disagree, he did need some hope.

"Well that is good, it's a good thing you didn't land in the throne room, the queen would have had a fit..." Nuke thought for a moment. Mika wondered, briefly, what would have happened had that been where she had landed. No, she didn't want to know actually from what she knew of this place. It would not have gone very well. Nuke was certainly not exaggerating about the whole fit thing.

"Although, I'd love to see the look on her face... And it's no inconvenience at all-" He paused as his phone rang. It was Alphys.

"Excuse me." He said just seconds before he answered.  
"Yes captain? Yes I'm tracking his phone as we speak... Yes, I'll make sure he knows... Snowdin... Okay I'll see you tomorrow... Of course... Goodbye." He hung up the phone before taking Derringer's pipe and tapped it out in an ashtray.

"Okay you're done now go! She's getting angry!" He pushed Derringer to the door. Mika found the gesture faintly amusing but kept quiet on it as she simply observed the brothers. It was best to do this. When faced with a situation that was not normal, such as being outside the present timeline, observation was best. It might even be key to keeping one's head.

"hey!" Derringer protested.

"okay okay i'm going! i'll see you both later." With that he disappeared.


	2. House Guest

Once he was gone Nuke ran back over to Mika.  
"Now tell me ... Is he happy in the future?" She wasn't the least bit surprised he'd asked that question. It was plain to her he loved and cared for his older brother, even despite everything that was going on around them ... or perhaps because of it he and his brother had a deeper bond. Not to mention that questions like that were fairly common when it was discovered that she was a time traveler. Most wanted to know about their future. In this case there was no harm in telling him, so long as it wasn't too detailed.

"you both are ... and you're an uncle. i've never seen his mate though but the kid is cute." Nuke's eyes got wide with wonder. It was comically cute to see that kind of reaction, but she didn't laugh. He was being sincere, for one thing, and it was nice seeing an expression that she knew was genuine. 

"REALLY?!" He sat on the floor next to the couch.  
"I wonder if there are skeletons on the surface?" He mused. Mika knew there wasn't, briefly wondering what that had to do with anything but she decided to ask at a later date. Letting him soak in the bit of news he had likely needed to hear. _I don't know how much longer you will have to wait for it... but from what the code has told me... it is not long._

  
"I'd make a GREAT uncle!" He laughed.  
"I'm so glad to hear he is happy! He deserves it." Catster, who had fallen asleep on the floor near the couch, stirred and hissed before disappearing. Nuke sighed.  
"That's not a good sign ..." Mika knew what it meant. Things with the tyrant had gone south, but that wasn't anything new. Nuke hoped that things like that would stop soon, he was glad to hear that his brother would be happy in the future and would find that kind of happiness. He could barely wait for that future to be the present; his brother had gone through more than enough to deserve it.   
"Do you need anything to eat? I can make some burritos?" He asked after a moment.

"no, but thanks for the offer. and no that wasn't but with my mother nearby i’m not worried." Rather, she wasn't worried that Derringer would be dusted, even if the tyrant was having a fit and the more she thought about that little fact the more she wanted to do something about it ... It just wasn't right that someone who was such a good soul be put through such things.  
  


"It's probably the queen 'punishing' him ... because that is not her normal reaction to being summoned voluntary or for a fight." Nuke sighed sadly, then changed the subject.  
"If your mom shows up I'll hide you until she leaves!"

"i appreciate it, but hiding me completely will be tough. she's not the trainer of guardians for nothing. as for that filth ... well, she'll get what's coming to her tenfold. she made a mistake ... she ticked mom off. even after knowing she shouldn't do this. kinda odd date for me to drop into come to think of it. bring him back here Nuke. i might not be able to leave but healing ... deep healing, is a specialty of mine and I can do it through you if you bring him. knowing him he'd protest my doing anything. so embarrassing i ended up like i did ..." Even so, she did appreciate the gesture and that he would offer. She had barely been here a couple days and he was already offering to protect her against the punishment she was sure she'd get. _They really are the sweetest monsters ..._ She thought.

"I'm sure I'd find a way to hide you." Nuke mused.  
  
"If Derringer would let me I'd kill her right now ..." He balled his fist and hit the ground as he was still sitting on the floor, it wasn't hard, just a motion really. Mika understood his sentiment and that he was now talking about the tyrant again. She didn't blame Derringer for not wanting to just dust her; as the saying went, better the evil you know than the one you do not.  
"Okay ... I'll go get him, he'll need a hand anyway, since Catster left he is likely low on HP ... Yeah he'll probably want to go to his room for a while ... He doesn't even like me to do it." He got up. Mika was vaguely amused at the irony that Derringer was willing to heal a stranger but wouldn't take the same treatment for himself. Was it pride? Perhaps there was another reason that she could not understand. Healing Derringer wouldn't be difficult, she'd been feeling strong enough to cast the simple spell to mend the tears in her clothing that she'd gotten from the fights, a minor sign of her health though not likely one Nuke had noticed when he'd spoken a moment ago of hiding her from her own mother.  
"I bet traveling through AUs is hard. It probably happens a lot to AU travelers." He commented thoughtfully and she had an idea that comment was due to what she'd said about her own predicament. He opened the door locking it from the inside.  
"I'll be back in an hour." Nuke knew a lot of shortcuts, not the kind that involved teleportation but actual shortcuts, through the underground. Nuke wouldn't know, however, the truth of why she'd ended up here of all places. She hadn't even admitted to Derringer that she'd gotten in over her head while out on her own ... She was supposed to be a guardian for cryin' out loud! This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen! She buried her head into one of the cushions as guilt and shame washed over her now that she was alone. Frustration as well ... anger at her own arrogant stupidity ... If only she'd been smarter ... About an hour and a half went by when there was a commotion outside the front door it was Nuke who was fiddling with his keys. Mika closed her sockets, deciding to feign sleep when the two came in.

"YOU ARE NOT FINE!" Nuke growled as the door opened and they entered into the living room, both were sopping wet, Catster was close behind them now the size of a panther and slowly shrinking.  
"You landed us in the river! I told you not to shortcut!" Nuke helped his brother to a chair near the table, Derringer had a few scratches on his left cheekbones, if one were to check him they'd see he'd have under 20 HP left.

"i said i was fine ..." Derringer protested, rubbing the back of his leg near his knee where there was a rip in his pants. Like someone -the queen- forcibly knocked his knees out from under him. It had been especially brutal today, but he had survived, that was all that really mattered to him; though how much longer before she just dusted him this way was another matter, she had threatened it before; but so far hadn't gone that far, though with as bad as today was he feared that the day she would actually do so was drawing closer.  
"it's just a few scratches, i've had worse."

"I'm sick of that excuse!" Nuke growled, the two had forgotten about their guest who was tucked under the worn blanket, not moving or making a single sound; she was listening to the two however.  
 _It seems he has said this before._

"She has NO RIGHT TO HURT YOU! STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR HER!" Mika agreed.

"i'm not making excuses! i'm trying to convince mysel-" He stopped himself before he finished. Convince himself? Of what? That it wasn't so bad? That he was okay? Mika wondered this even as she wondered if she should perform a Check but then decided against it so not to attract his attention; as Nuke had said his brother would protest to even his healing, she didn't need him being aware that it was actually her doing it through Nuke. He would likely have a bit of a fit then and use her own wounds as an excuse for her to try and use that magic on herself rather than him. Not that she could. That was the trouble with healing magic, or hers at any rate, it only worked on others.  
"i'm going to bed!" He sighed as he glanced over at the couch, considering laying there, but then he remembered Mika.  
"see how she is ..." He said as he looked down at her.

"I will once I see if you're stable!" Nuke huffed.  
"Now hold still!"

"i said i was going to bed." Derringer disappeared, but instead of landing on his bed in his room, he landed on the staircase.  
"ugh..."

**Derringer listen to your brother!**  
The soul scolded.  
 **You're hurt... it doesn't matter if you've had worse or not, he needs to look after you! It's his way of making up for the things he says even if he's just acting!**

"i know that ..." Derringer mumbled as Nuke ran over to him and helped him down the stairs again.

"That was foolish ..." Nuke scolded.

"is she asleep?" Derringer asked changing the subject.

"If she slept through all that she's a heavier sleeper than you." Nuke mused, helping Derringer into a sitting position on the floor. The moment he touched his brother again though he could sense it. It was like his magic ... but it was far more potent and it flowed from Nuke into Derringer. Nuke looked confused at first, but he kinda just went along with it, as long as it helped his brother he didn't care. Derringer didn't resist any longer; he was mentally and physically exhausted and didn't feel like protesting anymore. Green magic filled the room and slowly mended Derringer's wounds. 30/100 HP  
  


Nuke CHECKed his brother and noticed something different.

"Um Derringer ... let me see your soul..."  
  
40/100 HP

Derringer sighed, he didn't have the energy to protest, he summoned his soul and held it so that only Nuke could see it.  
  
50/100 HP

"IT'S HEALED?!?" Nuke exclaimed as Derringer let his soul drift away.  
"But you said it was impossible!"

"i was wrong, i guess." Derringer shrugged.   
"Aria healed it today ..."

"So this means ...!" Nuke gave his brother a hug, Derringer winced slightly.  
"You really did listen!! She said you did, but I know you change your mind sometimes and I know how hard it is for you to talk about the soul ... Tell me what happened!!"  
  
60/100 HP

"tomorrow ... i'll tell you tomorrow." Derringer sighed, rubbing his cheekbone.

"Humph ... Fine!" Nuke said, pretending to be angry, green magic still encompassed Derringer.  
  
70/100 HP.  
  
Nuke turned toward Mika.  
"Mika?" He said softly.  
"Are you awake?"

"mfff ... hard not to be with all the noise." Was the reply. 

"sorry about that." Derringer said as green magic filled the air. The healing magic wouldn't fade until Derringer was back up to full health.

  
80/100 HP

90/100 HP

100/100 HP  
  


"You would have slept through it." Nuke teased as the green magic slowly faded.  
"You could sleep through almost anything!"   
  


"true" Derringer shrugged, he motioned over to his pipe that was still laying on the table.  
"please?" He asked, Nuke gave a long sigh and retrieved the pipe. Derringer lit it before taking a few short draws to get it lit.

**Maybe you should ask her if she minds you smoking while she's here.**  
Mariah reminded.

"i guess ..." Derringer really didn't think anything of his pipe smoke, it didn't have the lingering effect as tobacco and most monsters didn't mind.  
"uh i hope you don't mind me smoking?" He said more than asked.

"not really. though that is thoughtful of you to inquire." She shifted a little, but not much; it seemed that it was still currently painful for her to move.  
"nothing like having an excuse to be a couch potato." She comments a little sarcastically. She never liked being idle for too long of a time.

"yep..." Derringer responded and then chuckled softly.  
"it's always good to have that excuse." Nuke rolled his eye lights.

"You do that even if you don't have an excuse." Nuke teased, while he pretended to be angry that Derringer did little around the house he really didn't fault him.  
"Now it's your turn, Mika! Let me heal you some more so you can at least move without pain."

"you do realize this is humiliating don't you?" She asked after a moment, but didn't offer any resistance. Nuke thought for a moment, he understood she must be sore about her predicament.  
  
  


"No more than with Derringer." Green magic filled the air around her, but this time without her influence.  
"And besides," He turned motioned between the two of them.   
"it's like you've told me, a stitch in time saves nine!" She gave them both a strange look for that.

"what the heck is that supposed to mean? i'll admit i've heard some odd sayings, but that one ... doesn't ring a bell or make any sense." Nuke laughed, not at her question but because he hadn't realized it wasn't a common saying.

"Mwhehe! It means if you fix something right away you won't have extra work later when it's gotten bigger! So healing a fair amount of your wounds now will help make sure that there are no complications or infections later!" He smiled kindly. She smiled back, it was hard not too; he was such a pure soul .... even in all of this.

"it's a good saying ... i've just never heard it put like that. i mean, there are other sayings with similar meaning, but that one is new to me ... which is saying a lot really considering i've been to at least 1,763 different realities ... the majority of which being alternate timelines." Derringer smiled as he watched his brother, he loved seeing his brother like this. Happy. He had always tried to protect him from the really bad things this world had to offer.

"Well now you have another saying to add to your vocabulary." He said before he'd registered full all of what she had told him.  
"Wow! That is really impressive and a lot of places to visit! I wonder if I'll travel to different AUs someday?" The green magic slowly began to fade.  
"Do you feel better now?"

"yes, thank you. perhaps you will. i cannot say for sure. the multiverse is a very vast place." _A lie there, but I cannot reveal to him the truth of his own future just yet._

"Hopefully." Nuke said as he looked at the clock.  
"It's getting late, you both need to get to sleep ... "

"okay 'dad' if you say so." She said with a completely serious face but her tone was entirely joking. After a moment though she just smirked at him. Nuke paused and then laughed.

"That's right!" Derringer chuckled.

"i'm not going to argue with you wanting me to go to sleep ..." He said as he slowly got up, he was shaky on his feet but Nuke helped him stabilize himself.  
"good night Mika." Derringer said as Nuke helped him up to his room.

"goodnight Derringer, Nuke." Nuke soon returned.

"Do you need anything, like a blanket? Or Pillow?" When he came back she looked over curiously.

"a light blanket if you have it."

"Sure thing!" Nuke darted up the stairs, there was a loud thud.

"you okay Nuke?" Derringer called out from his room. Mika was wondering the same thing, had Nuke fallen again? Perhaps, which was more likely, something had fallen on him? He hadn't indicated any pain though ... So what had happened? 


End file.
